Abdominal supporter



Nov. 2 1926.

M. F. BECK ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER Filed April 25, 1924.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 2, 1926. 1,605,323

M. F. BECK ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER Filed April 25, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Mn): 1 4114 III w gwuwnto z MIT Beck.-

Patented Nov. 2, 1926.

MARCIA F. BECK, OF LA GRANDE, OREGON.'

ABDOMINAL SUPPOR TER. 7

Application filed April 25, 1924. Serial No. 708,972.

This invention relates to improvements in abdominal supporters and moreparticularly to a supporter especially adapted for use after childbirth,the primary object of the present invention being to provide a supporterwhich, when worn, will support the lax abdominal muscles and assist inthe contraction and restoration to normal condi tions, of the pelvicorgans.

Another object of the invention is to. provide, in a supporter of thisclass, a pad so positioned and arranged as to adapt it to exert adesirable degree of pressure against the lower abdomen for the purposespreviously explained, the supporter embodying means whereby it may beinitially adjusted to conform to the contour of the wearer and fitsnugly about the abdomen and this means being so positioned withrelation to the pad as to prevent contact of the body therewith so thatthe pad serves not only as a means for exerting pressure where required,but also as (i-protecting means to prevent any irritation orinconvenience which might otherwise be caused through direct contact ofthe adjusting means with the body.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby thesupporter may be initially adjusted in the manner above stated, and, inconnection therewith, an auxiliary closing means adapting the supporterto be readily and quickly applied and removed without in any waydisturbing the initial adjustments obtaine Another object of theinvention is to provide, in conjunction with the auxiliary closingmeans, a protecting means for preventing the said closing means or thecomponent elements thereof coming in contact with the body and causinginconvenience or irritation.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view looking at the front of the supporterembodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a similar view looking at the rear of the supporter;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the supporterlooking-toward the front thereof;

Figure 4 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken substantially onthe line 44 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by thearrows.

The supporter embodying the invention includes a body encircling bandwhich is indicated in general by the numeral 1 and which is, asusual,"made of cloth and is preferably of a single ply thickness. Thebody bandmay be made up of any required number of pieces cut to shape soas to adapt the band to conform snugly to the contour of the body, andin this respect, the construction of the band is immaterial, so far asthe present invention is concerned. The band is, so to.speak, open atits front, and at one side of its open front it is provided with avertically extending hem 2 carrying a correspondingly extending row ofeyelets 3. The numeral 4 indicates a section of the band which is in thenature of a strip of the cloth of which the band is formed, stitched toprovide hems 5 and 6 at its opposite vertical edges, the hem 5 beingprovided with a correspondingly extending series of eyelets 7, and thehem 6 carrying'a correspondingly extending series of hooks indicated bythe numeral 8. The body band at the opposite side of its open front isprovided with a hem 9 carrying a vertically extending series of eyelets10 with which the hooks 8 are engageable as illustrated clearly inFigures 1 and 4 of the drawings. hooks and eyes is herein illustratedand described as the connecting means between the body section or strip4 and the last-mentioned open side of the body band 1, it will be Whilethe use of e,

understood, of course, that other fastening or connecting devicesembodying relatively separable elements, may be made use of at thispoint, the object being to provide means whereby the last-mentioned openside of the body band may be readily connected with and disconnectedfrom the strip 4, and vice versa. The numeral 11 indicates a lacingwhich is passed back and forth through the eyelets 3 and 7 andconstitutes a means whereby the supporter may, be initially drawntogether at its open front so as to adapt the body band of the supportersnugly to the contour of the body. After this initial adjustment hasbeen made, the knot 12 in the lacing 11 may be left undisturbed, thehooks and eyes 8 and 10, or the other fastening elements employed inlieu thereof, then constituting a means whereby the body band may bereadily 'openedor closed in the removal and application of the supporterfrom and to the body. I r

Referen e is above made to the fact that the supporter is open at thefront and this is in one sense true and this statement is made in orderthat the article may be de- 2 necasas scribed with more particularity.However, as will be observed by reference to Figure 4 of the drawings,there is provided an insert, at the front of the supporter, indicated bythe numeral 13, this insert being in the nature of a substantiallyrectangular piece of cloth stitched at one vertical margin, as'

at 14, to the inner side of the body band 1 along a line parallel to andspaced inwardly from the hem 2, the said insert being stitched, as at15, along its other vertical edge to the inner side of the strip 4 andthus extending across the space between the hem 2 at one side of theopen front of the supporter and the said band 4: and in rear of thelacing 11 so as to, in the absence of other means to be presentlydescribed prevent contact of the lacing with the body of the wearer.This insert 13 will be of sufficient width to provide for a widelatitude of adjustment of the supporter to the body and therefore itwill have a greater or less fullness when the lacing 11 is drawn ortightened to cause the body band 1 to snugly fit the body.

In. order that no irritation or annoyance will be caused to the wearerof the supporter due to the presence of the hooks 8 and eyes 10, it ispreferable that the eyes 10, instead of being secured directly to thehem 9. be carried by a separate hem strip 16 stitched to the outer sideof the body band 1 in front of the hem 9 and spaced slightly inwardlyfrom the said hem, so that the hem will extend beyond the edge of thesaid hem strip 16 and will lie between the hooks 8 and eyes 10 and thebody of the wearer. It will be understood at this point that all of thedevices which are of a metallic nature and likewise the lacing 11, areso covered that none of them can come in contact with the body of thewearer to cause annoyance or irritation.

It is preferable to employ, in connection with the body band and theopen front thereof, a pressure pad indicated by the numeral 17. This padpreferably comprises a plurality of plies 18 of soft cloth which arerelatively thick, and the plies are united at their margins by a binding19, the pad as a whole being of substantially oblong rectangular formand being arranged vertically at the inner side of the so-called openfront of the supporter and detachably connected at its upper end withthe upper marginal portion of the insert 13 by means of a safety pin orthe like indicated by the numeral 20. The pad is thus suspended, asclearly shown in Figure 3, immediately in rear of the open front of thesupporter and due to the presence of this pad within the supporter, whenthe body band 1 is suitably adjusted to the body of the wearer, the padwill exert a desirable degree of pressure against the lower portion ofthe abdomen. However, due to the soft and padded nature of the member17, its presence will not discomfort the wearer of the supporter.

Reinforcements 21 are arranged at the opposite sides of the open frontof the body band 1 near the lower margin thereof and safety pins or thelike indicated by the numeral 22 may be secured through thesereinforcements and the said body band and constitute suspension meansfor the garters 23, it being understood that the provision of asuspension means for a pair of garters at this point is of decidedadvantage in view of the fact that the garters, when connected at theirlower ends to the stockings, constitute means for yieldably and yet moreor less positively exerting a downward pull upon the front portion ofthe body band so as to adapt the same to more correctly fit the abdomenand insure against displacement.

In order that the device may be adapted for the support of a sanitarypad, reinforcements 24 are provided at the front and rear of the bodyband, the rear one being united directly to the outer side of the bodyband and the front one being united to the outer side of the insert 13.Safety pins 25 may be connected to the band at the point of location ofthe said reinforcements 2 1.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

An abdominal bandage comprising an elongated pliable band adapted toencircle the waist of the wearer with its ends spaced from each otherand at one end provided with vertically spaced eyelets, a flap securedagainst the outer face of the other end por tion of said band in spacedrelation to its end edge, a vertically disposed strip provided at oneside with vertically spaced eyelets, means for detachably securing saidstrip to said flap, an insert formed of soft fabric, said insertextending between said strip and the first-mentioned end portion of saidband and covering said eyelets and secured against the inner faces ofthe strip and band, lacings threaded through the eyelets of the stripand band, and a pad detachably secured against the inner face of saidinsert and of a length approximately corresponding to the height of saidband and of sufficient width to overlap the end portions of the band.

In testimony whereof I affix my signa' ture.

MARCIA F. BECK. [Ls]

